he first
curator of the Section had envisioned that the exhibits eventually would
embrace the entire field of the healing arts. In the _Smithsonian Annual
Report_ for 1883, Dr. Flint noted that "in the establishment of a museum
designed to illustrate man and his environment, it is proper that the
materials and methods used for the prevention and cure of disease should
have a place." However, his plans were temporarily interrupted when his
first term as honorary curator ended in 1884.

On June 4, 1884, Dr. Henry Gustav Beyer was detailed by the Department
of the Navy to become the second honorary curator of the Section of
Materia Medica. As a young man, Dr. Beyer (1850-1918) had come from
Saxony, Germany, to the United States and, in due course, became a
naturalized citizen. He was graduated from the Bellevue Hospital
Medical College of New York City in 1876.

Because of his interest in physiological experimental research, Dr.
Beyer enrolled at the Johns Hopkins University, where he was awarded a
Ph. D. degree in 1887. Unlike his predecessor, Dr. Beyer was primarily
interested in carrying on research on the physiological action of
certain drugs and in pharmacology. This was evident from the original
scientific papers mentioned in the _Smithsonian Annual Reports_ and
published by him during the period of his curatorship from 1884 to 1887.

Despite the pressure of his postgraduate studies at Johns Hopkins
University, Dr. Beyer helped in arranging and classifying the _materia
medica_ collection without trying to extend materially the scope of the
Section.

After the term of Dr. Beyer expired in 1887, Dr. Flint returned to take
charge of the Section. Surprisingly, at this time, it seems that he
showed less enthusiasm and devotion to the work of the Museum which he
had previously served so well. It could have been a disappointment
resulting from a lack of evidence of any real progress in the Section
since he had left it three years before. Whatever the reasons may have
been, the _Smithsonian Annual Reports_ show that only a few hundred
specimens were added to the _materia medica_ collections between 1887
and 1890, bringing the total to 5,915 preserved in good condition.
Further curtailment of the Section's activities began in November 1891
when Dr. Flint was again transferred to other duties for the U.S. Navy.
From November 1891 to May 24, 1895, curatorship of the Section was
charged to five physicians of the U.S. Navy: D